Brion Galleries Artists

Sandra Beck is a poet, a storyteller and a visual artist whose watercolors, both Surreal and narrative in style, are enchanted by feminine power. They give the viewer a glimpse what the artist has dreamed, endured, enjoyed and imagined. Beck has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a passion for physical fitness. Her art is drawn from intense international experiences. She has explored 34 countries, frequently running or hiking through Asia, Europe and South America. Sandra Beck grew up in New England. She has also lived in New York, Miami, London, Karachi, Cairo, and, now resides in beautiful Port Townsend, WA.

My first reaction to Sandra Beck’s work was that she must be the love-child of Frieda Kahlo and Max Ernst who, it turns out, are currently two of her many favorite artists. DEB

I have been drawing and painting since I was eight years old. This was the age I first realized that many things in life bored me – school in particular. I found it a challenge to remain awake during math, civics or Latin. My teachers, themselves uninspired by these subjects, frequently stifled yawns and long, sad sighs. Not only did I begin drawing to appease my active imagination, but I also created an imaginary companion. Dressed all in black, this Gene Kelley look-alike would climb all over the school environment to entertain me. He’d scamper along the walls, up the blackboard and balance on the edge of the fish tank.

My mother kept telling me that I should be doing office work nine to five. The very thought of typing and filing sucked the creative life-force from me. Fortunately, the fates supported my artistic endeavors. I was awarded a full scholarship that allowed me to draw and paint full time.

I have always been a storyteller. My mother, had another word for it…liar. That always seemed a bit harsh to me.
At age ten, I augmented my drawings with colorful words and completed an eight page illustrated novel. From the beginning, my artwork possessed a strong narrative quality just as my poetry and prose have always been characterized by vivid portrayals.

Sandra Beck's favorite form of poetry is the Ghazal which is one of the oldest forms of poetry. It is also one of the principle poetic forms of the Indo-Persian-Arabic civilizations. A Ghazal is composed of five or more couplets, with the first and second lines of the first couplet ending in the same word or phrase. The second line of the remaining couplets ends in the same word or phrase. Each couplet must be a complete sentence and thought. All the couplets, however, must correspond to a particular unifying theme, i.e., love, work, aging, nature, etc. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, Persian troubadours would walk from village to village and recite news in the form of a Ghazal. All of Beck's poetry on this site relates to one of her paintings. You will find each poem by clicking on the poetry link located on the caption of the corresponding painting.